as you may know by now, mitch mcconnell just arrived on capitol hill a few moments ago. we'll be waiting to see whether senator mcconnell's discussions with the vice president, joe biden, have produced a working deal. we've bp getting headlines all morning long, major progress, not at all like the headlines we were getting last night which was quite the opposite. of course, as the headlines become available, we'll be bringing them to you live. for the last day of the year, it is more high drama than we're used to. >> it is. the markets really are holding pretty steady in light, despite this dram a i should say. the dow down by about .10%. the nasdaq has been powering higher in this session, in terms of the major indices. up by about .6%. fairly calm in the markets so far. >> we'll see if john harwood changes any of that. we go to washington with breaking news. john? >> carl, i just spoke to a republican source close to the talks who gave this update. vice president biden and senate republican leader mitch mcconnell last talked at 6:30 this morning. they not only talked a